AFJ Calls on Matthew Whitaker to Step Down as Acting Attorney General
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 30, 2018 – Following the completion of an Alliance for Justice report providing an overview of many troubling aspects of Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker’s record, AFJ President Nan Aron released the following statement:
“Matthew Whitaker’s record shows him to be a person who is ethically compromised, ill-informed and overwhelmingly biased. He is wholly unsuited for the position of acting attorney general and his path to this role is questionable from a legal standpoint. We believe that it’s time for Whitaker to show that he is more committed to the Department of Justice than to his own careerism, and to step aside.”
The AFJ report notes the following:
- Whitaker used his office as a U.S. attorney in Iowa to launch politically motivated investigations.
- Whitaker ran for office in Iowa on a politically extreme platform, including pledging to repeal the Affordable Care Act, calling for the Department of Education to be disbanded, and calling for President Obama to be prosecuted for considering raising the minimum wage by executive order.
- Whitaker ran a shady right-wing watchdog group, of which he was the only full-time employee, dedicated to attacking and calling for investigations of Democrats including Hillary Clinton.
- Whitaker worked for a sham company that promised to help inventors patent inventions, but in reality scammed people, including veterans, out of their money while lying about its services. A judge ruled that the company owed $26 million to its victims, which included individuals who lost their life savings.
- Whitaker believes Marbury v. Madison, the seminal case that established the principle of judicial review of legislative and executive acts and provides the underpinning for much of our legal system, was wrongly decided.
- Whitaker appears unaware that under the Constitution states cannot nullify federal law, and has said states can and should do so.
- Whitaker has stated that judges should take a biblical view of the law, thereby implying that persons of other beliefs or faith traditions are unqualified for the bench.
- Whitaker has made statements on record that are hostile to the Mueller investigation and that suggest it could be curtailed through funding cuts. This strongly suggests that President Trump placed him in his current role in order to carry out those threats.